BRAND GUIDE
PERSONAL ENCOUNTER
On Monday, September 25th, 2023, I was heading home on an LIRR Transit Train that left me fearful for my own safety. I sat down like every other ordinary train ride, only to have someone who was clearly intoxicated and mentally ill sit next to and engage with me. I was frightened, and this encounter prompted me to explore solutions to help alleviate these worries for others in the future.
THE PROBLEM
New Yorkers simply just don’t feel safe when riding the subway or other forms of public transit.
According to Spectrum News, NY, “Only 15% of New Yorkers feel “very safe” riding the subway during the day — and a majority would like to see more police officers patrolling the system, a new poll found.” This fear worsens, however, during nighttime transit with only 7% of NewYorkers feeling “very safe,” while over 50% feel unsafe.
THE PROBLEM WORSENS FOR WOMEN
The problem worsens for women. According to Science Daily, women reported being 10% more likely to feel unsafe using public transportation. This number unfortunately rises as crime rates and harassment rise.
According to The Daily Dot, “Their fear is backed by numbers too. Experts say crime, ranging from assault to harassment, on New York transit, increased by 14% from 2020 to 2021.”
MY ROLE
As the UX Designer and Researcher, I conducted interviews, surveys and produced deliverables to back outputs from the research conducted.
COMMUTER COMPANION
Commuter Companion’s idea was derived from research, providing insight into how travel fears could be alleviated when using public transit. Through this research, we have developed a communal form of travel that allows women to connect and commute with each other based on similar travel schedules, personalities, and interests to ensure each other’s safety and engagement.
WHO?
The Commuter:
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Core Needs: Communal travel using public transportation on a regular basis.
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Goals: Develop a lasting community where women can travel with one another and feel safer using public transportation.
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Frustrations: Fears currently using public transit, although accustomed to these concerns.
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Importance: Commuters should not feel unsafe when traveling.
METHODOLOGY
Objective - Understand how female commuters currently go about the public transit experience, the fears they have, and the specific encounters they have faced, and develop insights from these to further create a solution.
Methodology During Different Research Stages
Discovery:
Objectives
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Understand the challenges and concerns of public transportation, how commuters feel about communal travel, and what safety measures users take when commuting with public transportation.
Top 3 Findings
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The majority of participants do not feel safe taking public transportation in NYC.
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Participants implemented a variety of safety measures, but the most popular was traveling with friends to alleviate concerns.
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Matches should be based on shared interests and similar commutes.
Important Stats
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0% of participants listed safety as a reason for using public transportation.
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9/11 or 82% of participants stated that they take friends traveling at night to alleviate safety concerns.
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7/11 or 63% of participants are open to connecting with others through a matching system.
Exploration
Objectives
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Understand the research from the Discovery phase.
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Develop wireframe and prototype for Commuter Companion.
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Develop Tasks for the Usability Tests, to ensure the familiarity and effectiveness of Commuter Companion.
Top 3 Findings
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Those who commuted more frequently were more accustomed to these safety concerns, but still acknowledged them as serious issues that need to be addressed.
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The app must seamlessly integrate matching and navigation into a unified experience.
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Bumble was the most common “Matching App,” and Google Maps was the most common “Navigational App” being used.
Important Stats
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6/6 or 100% of participants stated that they used or are currently using Google Maps.
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4/6 or 67% of participants stated that they have used Bumble or are currently using Bumble.
Testing
Objectives
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Understand the familiarity levels of users with Bumble and Google Maps.
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Use this knowledge to enhance features in Commuter Companion.
Top 3 Findings
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Users are strongly familiar with both Bumble and Google Maps.
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Bumble's usability testing demonstrates strong user familiarity with profile setup, adding friends, viewing others' profiles, and sending messages.
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While using Google Maps, participants demonstrated strong familiarity with core tasks such as navigating, altering routes, changing transportation modes, and setting starting and ending destinations. Some users struggled with leaving reviews.
Important Stats
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100% of Bumble Testers were able to successfully set up their profile, add and view others as well as send messages.
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100% of Google Maps Testers were able to navigate to a specified location, alter the travel route, and change the method of transportation.
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83% of Google Maps Testers were able to successfully leave a review on a place they visited.
Revising
Objectives
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Understand where users struggled in Competitor Usability Tests.
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Revise Commuter Companion based on struggles and feedback.
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Conduct Usability Testing for Commuter Companion.
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Cycle between stages to further development.
Top 3 Findings
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Concepts and tasks were easy for the user to understand and accomplish.
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Notifications were difficult to find, so they have been updated to visually stand out more.
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The matching system initially didn’t allow for swipe, but forced the user to view the profile first which was a friction point, and this has been updated.
Important Stats
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100% of participants were able to view popular places.
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100% of participants were able to view current, upcoming, and past trips and schedule new trips.
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100% of participants were able to view, add, review, and message others.
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75% of participants were able to check notifications successfully.
DESIGN SOLUTIONS
Sign-Up, Registration and Verification: As safety is the main priority, users must verify using legal identification, to ensure the safety of app users.
Home Page: The home page offers users travel suggestions that exist along their commute. They can view popular places, and schedule trips with companions they have matched with.
Match with Other Commuters: Users can match with other commuters to establish safer forms of communal travel, using public transit.
Schedule an Upcoming Trip: Users can schedule upcoming trips and commutes in the "Trips Section."
Current Trip and Past Trips: It is important that users are able to easily access their current trip details. During their current trip, users have access to an SOS button, as safety is the forefront concern.
In Past Trips, users can easily reconnect and review those they have commuted with.
Reporting and Reviewing Users: Users are able to report other users, describe the scenario or infraction that occurred and application moderators will moderate the situation and determine the necessary outcome. Reviews will be moderated by AI.
CONCLUSION
Commuters simply do not feel safe, and traveling with others has proven to put commuters more at ease, enhancing feelings of safety and security.
Keeping familiarity in mind is essential, ensuring that the user will be able to integrate Commuter Companion’s functionality and features into their daily lives seamlessly.